ZEBRA-HORSE HYBRIDS. 



29 



tinct and relatively broader as the hoof is reached. It 

 will be further observed from the figures— (a) that the 

 upper part of the tail is distinctly striped, and that only 

 the lower part carries long hairs; (b) that though there is 

 a large wart (chestnut) on the fore-leg, there is no rudi- 

 ment of a wart on the hind leg, and (c) that there is no 

 tuft of hair at the fetlock. 



It may be mentioned that in no two zebras, or on the two 

 sides (Figs. 7 and 8) of the same zebra, is the striping alike, 

 that in some cases there are nearly as many shadow as 

 there are ordinary stripes on the neck and body ; that even 

 in some of the Burchell zebras there are stripes across the 

 croup and rump which suggest the ''gridiron" of the 

 common zebra {E. zebra) ; and that while in summer the 

 dark stripes are nearly black and the light stripes cream- 

 coloured, in winter the dark stripes are occupied by fairly 

 long brown hairs, while the light stripes are made up of 

 equally long w^hite hairs; the light tufts at the side of the 

 mane, however, are white summer and winter. It may be 

 added that Matopo, like the majority of the Burchell group 

 of zebras, being adapted for a life on the plains, has 

 rounded hoofs and comparatively short ears. He thus 

 differs from the mountain zebra {E. zebra), and from his 

 stable companion, a white Arabian donkey, in which the 

 hoofs are long and narrow, while the ears measure eleven 

 and a half inches, five inches more than in Matopo. 



The Hybrid " Romulus." 



The oldest hybrid (Romulus), as already noted, was born 

 on the 12th of August, 1896, the period of gestation being 

 342 days,— in the mare it is usually from 340 to 350 days. 

 The dam of Romulus was a thirteen hands black Island of 

 Rum pony, lent for the experiments by Lord Arthur Cecil, 

 of Orchardmains, Kent. The well-bred nearly black 

 ponies of the Scottish Western Highlands and Islands, 

 which have long been under observation, form a distinct 

 breed, well adapted in many ways for crossing with zebras. 

 Their resemblance to Eastern horses has been accounted 



